When it rains, it pours. And on Sunday, it was definitely a torrential mess at MetLife Stadium when the New York Giants dropped their third straight game, falling to the Arizona Cardinals, 27-21, in a downpour.
Despite how poorly they played, the Giants were in this game the entire way. Yet they continued to throw away opportunities and allowed the Cardinals to walk out of New Jersey with their third straight victory.
So now at 2-5, the Giants have a lot of questions to answer as they will take their show on the road next Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
Following their latest loss of the season, whose stock is up and down from the Giants?
Stock up: Saquon Barkley
Getting Barkley back was a really good thing for the offense, and it felt like at times, it was the only good thing that came from Sunday’s game.
After an injury that was supposed to keep him out for two months, Barkley returned to the field after missing three games and had a decent performance with 18 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown.
It wasn’t the typical game we are accustomed to seeing from Barkley where it’s over 100-plus yards, but Barkley was supposed to miss months, and yet, he was only out a few weeks. And in his return, he didn’t suffer any major injuries or any setbacks.
Stock down: Mike Remmers
Sunday’s game might have been the worst of Remmers’ tenure with the Giants. It was not pretty at all.
Chandler Jones flat-out abused, pushed around and had his way with Remmers the entire game and had 3.5 of the eight sacks that the Giants offensive line surrendered on Daniel Jones.
Granted, Jones is one of the top pass rushers in the game and Remmers probably could have used some help, but even so, Remmers is still a veteran who up to this point, hadn’t been an issue.
On Sunday, his play was an issue because Danny Dimes was getting clobbered as a result of Remmers being unable to protect him.
Stock up: Michael Thomas
Thomas blocked a punt of Andy Lee that was eventually recovered in the end zone for a touchdown by Eli Penny, changing the momentum of the game and getting the Giants within a field goal at the time.
Thomas is one of the true leaders of the Giants both on and off the field and is a huge contributor on special teams.
Granted, the Giants couldn’t take the lead after, but even so, that blocked punt for a touchdown was one of the biggest plays of the game and shows the kind of effort Thomas puts in on a regular basis.
Stock down: Daniel Jones
Granted, there were some things on Sunday that Jones did well, but this was not a pretty game by any stretch of the imagination for the rookie.
Aside from the beautiful touchdown pass he threw to Rhett Ellison, Jones had an ugly interception — something he’s been doing more of lately — and fumbled the ball three times, two of which he lost.
Even if you’re a rookie quarterback in the NFL and you’re going through the growing pains in a season, turning the ball over three times will not win anything in this league.
In the last three games (all losses), Jones has five interceptions and three fumbles. Those are ugly numbers, especially if the Giants find themselves in winnable games like they were on Sunday.
Stock up: Golden Tate
After his first game where he wasn’t much of a factor, Tate has really settled in and become a relatable target for Daniel Jones over the last two games.
In the loss against the Cardinals, Tate had six catches for 80 yards. With Sterling Shepard missing time, Tate’s arrival has really helped in the passing game and his long-time reliability in the league has quickly shown.
Even with Evan Engram not being much of a factor in his first game back, Tate was the go-to target, and he may continue to give that to the Giants each week.
Stock down: Pat Shurmur
The record doesn’t show it, and as Bill Parcells once put it, “you are what your record says you are,” but the Giants players do try and play real hard for Shurmur.
But that’s not what this is about. This is about the poor decision-making and play calling displayed on the final two offensive drives that led to nothing.
The worst, a 3rd-and-18, and Shurmur calls for a draw play to Saquon Barkley that gains five yards (he has since claimed Daniel Jones audibled into it). At that point, everyone in the stadium and everyone on social media, was losing their absolute minds over the play selection because it made no sense.
That was the kind of play calling everyone used to kill Kevin Gilbride over before he got run into retirement.
When Shurmur said in his postgame press conference that “everyone needs to be better,” he’s not excluded from that. Shurmur himself has to be better as a head coach, especially if he wants to stick around into any kind of future with this franchise.
